1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fixing by means of a clamp body a metal pipe or a resin tube (hereinafter collectively referred to as the pipe) having a relatively small diameter of about 30 mm or less and laid as a supply line for supplying oil or gas in automobiles in general or various types of machine and equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional fixing method of this type, as shown in FIG. 13, in a state in which a pipe P' is passed through an assembly hole 12 provided in a clamp member 11, in the case of a metal pipe, the pipe P' and the clamp member 11 are welded together at a weld W by means of soldering over a peripheral portion of the hole 12 so as to be fixed, while, in the case of a resin tube, the tube is clamped by a clip wall portion (not shown) so as to be fixed.
However, with this conventional fixing method, in the case of the former case, there have been drawbacks in that a troublesome operation is involved due to the heating and solder welding by using a burner, frequently causing a deterioration in the mechanical strength of the pipe in the vicinity of the weld due to a local overheating, resulting in fractures and breakage, and that productivity is aggravated remarkably since plating is necessitated for corrosion prevention or the like after the solder welding. Meanwhile, in the latter case, there has also been a drawback in that the pipe is displaced in an axial or circumferential direction due to faulty clamping, possibly causing the pipe to be separated and come off the clip wall portion when subjected to vibrations.